Kenya lies on the eastern coast of Africa along the equator with a land area of 582,644 square kilometres inclusive of inland water. The climate and topography are characterised by wide diversions ranging from glaciated mountain peaks (notably Mount Kenya) to cool plateau, the humid coastal plane, and the vast and hot expanse of arid and semi-arid land, which covers the northern half and southern-eastern parts of the country.
Administratively, it is divided into 8 provinces namely Central, Coast, Nyanza, Western, Eastern, Nairobi, Rift Valley and North Eastern. It has a population of approximately 31 million people. The country’s economic growth has been on the decline since 1992 when Kenya embraced the Structural Adjustment Programme recommended by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The economy is at its lowest currently with an annual GDP growth of less than 1.4 %. The gradual economic decline has had a proportionate decrease on the Health indicators.
The HIV/AIDS scourge has taken its toll on the Kenyan population. An estimated 2.2 million people, representing 13% of Kenya’s sexually active adult population are living with HIV/AIDS.
Table 2.1 General and health indicators1
Total population, 2001 |
31.3 million |
Percentage of urban population, 2002 |
34 |
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (US$), 2001 |
453.2 |
Life expectancy at birth (M/F)(years), 2002 |
47/49 |
Child mortality (M/F)(years) (probability of dying under age 5 years) (per 1000) |
199/109 |
Adult mortality (M/F)(probability of dying between 15 and 59) (per 1000) |
560/513 |
Per capita total expenditure on health in international dollars, 2000 |
115 |
Total expenditure on health as percent of GDP, 2000 |
8.3 |
Adult literacy rate, 2000 |
73.6% |
1 WHO Country information for Kenya/ “Selected indicators”: http://www.who.int/country/ken/en/ (extracted: 18 August 2003)
